About that break from the Internet I was taking? Apparently I lied. Take away my venue and just see how much I have to say!
Today, as you no doubt are aware, is Shrove Tuesday, or Fat Tuesday. That makes tomorrow Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Something inside me has drawn me to Lent this year even more than usual, and I have decided to observe it in a church, going to all of the Lent services. I am currently deciding which church to attend, but will likely choose the local liberal Episcopalian church. I had a long talk with Mark over the weekend about my striving to find faith, and I am now reenergized in that mission.
Curious as to if my results would differ from my last go at it, I decided to check out the Belief-O-Matic, all powerful as I know it must be. The results I got, fairly unsurprisingly, were that my beliefs best match up with:
| 1. | Liberal Quakers (100%) |
| 2. | Unitarian Universalism (96%) |
| 3. | Reform Judaism (92%) |
| 4. | Neo-Pagan (91%) |
| 5. | Bah?'? Faith (81%) |
| 6. | Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (80%) |
| 7. | New Age (80%) |
| 8. | Mahayana Buddhism (79%) |
| 9. | Sikhism (71%) |
| 10. | Jainism (68%) |
| 11. | Secular Humanism (63%) |
| 12. | Orthodox Judaism (62%) |
| 13. | Theravada Buddhism (62%) |
| 14. | New Thought (60%) |
| 15. | Hinduism (59%) |
| 16. | Scientology (58%) |
| 17. | Orthodox Quaker (57%) |
| 18. | Taoism (56%) |
| 19. | Islam (56%) |
| 20. | Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (41%) |
| 21. | Nontheist (36%) |
| 22. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (29%) |
| 23. | Seventh Day Adventist (29%) |
| 24. | Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (28%) |
| 25. | Jehovah's Witness (19%) |
| 26. | Eastern Orthodox (16%) |
| 27. | Roman Catholic (16%) |
Taking it a step further this time, though, I decided to also take the What Kind of Christian Are You? quiz, to further edify me. This one was tougher, as most of the questions didn't make much sense to me or were regarding things on which I really have no strong opinion. However, I answered as best I could, and it proclaimed me a "Bishop Spong Christian" aka a Biblical Revisionist. This apparently describes me:
You think the Bible is a powerful metaphorical narrative and believe that Jesus was a heroic figure similar to Gandhi. You believe in God as a loving creator and that She will forgive you for just about anything. You're willing to admit that you don't believe in the resurrection. You go to church for the sense of community and the music and because you like to hector your fellow Christians about their backward ways. You read Toni Morrison, Elaine Pagels, and Bishop Spong, the controversial Episcopalian prelate. You enjoyed the "The Da Vinci Code" as a thriller and found its ideas about Christian history thought-provoking, if not always historically accurate. Though you probably didn't see it, you're sure that "The Passion of the Christ" presented an utterly backward version of Christianity. You ardently support gay rights and feel guilty that you yourself are not gay. (If you are gay, you're in a loving, committed relationship). You live in a leafy university town, order Chai at the local coffee house (never Starbucks), and subscribe to The New Yorker. You watch TV so you can talk disdainfully about how bad TV is. You give to charity, preferring the local homeless shelter to those bureaucratic national charities. For you, the crux of Christianity is Jesus' revolutionary message of empowering "the least of these."
Could be worse...
Anyway, I am going to be documenting my feelings and thoughts as the Lent season progresses here, for my own edification and for that of anybody else who cares. If me talking about looking for faith turns you off, you don't have to read it. I'm sure I'll have plenty of mindless filler as well. After all, I still gotta be me.
Comments (5)
I have taken this test several times, and it always rates me as Unitarian over Secular humanist (this time by 6%) and that TOTALLY baffles me. Liberal protestant also was very high, which again I don't get. I think at some point this test breaks down because I don't think the liberal protestants, no matter how liberal, could allow me in since I don't believe in a god or that Jesus was one.....if we're going with the most basic definition of Christianity (i.e. Christ is God), I don't see how I could even rate highly if I don't believe in the major tenet of the faith! :) I think this test rates more on politics than belief. The high rating for Mormon REALLY bewilders me. And the religion I was raised? Last place! But sadly, I am still more Catholic than you! 1. Unitarian Universalism (100%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8041_1.html 2. Secular Humanism (94%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8040_1.html 3. Liberal Quakers (86%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8038_1.html 4. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (86%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8028_1.html 5. Theravada Buddhism (84%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8042_1.html 6. Nontheist (77%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8027_1.html 7. Neo-Pagan (72%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8058_1.html 8. Bahá'í Faith (68%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8051_1.html 9. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (68%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8035_1.html 10. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (63%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8039_1.html 11. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (55%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8029_1.html 12. Orthodox Quaker (53%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8037_1.html 13. Reform Judaism (53%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8054_1.html 14. New Age (52%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8055_1.html 15. Sikhism (49%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8049_1.html 16. Jehovah's Witness (48%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8034_1.html 17. Mahayana Buddhism (46%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8045_1.html 18. New Thought (45%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8056_1.html 19. Taoism (40%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8059_1.html 20. Scientology (38%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8057_1.html 21. Hinduism (33%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8047_1.html 22. Islam (33%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8052_1.html 23. Jainism (33%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8048_1.html 24. Orthodox Judaism (33%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8053_1.html 25. Seventh Day Adventist (30%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8036_1.html 26. Eastern Orthodox (26%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8033_1.html 27. Roman Catholic (26%) http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8030_1.html
Posted by broad | February 28, 2006 2:41 PM
My results are posted below. In retaking this test, I remembered why it bugged me so damn much. Most of my own picks in the first several questions were lumped with "Or don't know. Or don't care." My belief system is something I've given a lot of thought to, so "don't care" is just irritating when it's lumped with the only answer that I find appealing. Not to mention, the answers I pick and "don't know/care" result in two totally different "beliefs", namely, nontheism and agnosticism. And I would really like to know how much the Unitarians and the Secular Humanists have paid to have themselves put on the top of everyone's lists... 1. Secular Humanism (100%) 2. Unitarian Universalism (97%) 3. Nontheist (89%) 4. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (78%) 5. Liberal Quakers (72%) . . . 25. Scientology (10%) 26. Sikhism (10%) 27. Seventh Day Adventist (5%)
Posted by Scand79 | March 1, 2006 7:25 PM
Oh, yeah, I was going to say good luck with your spiritual journey. I don't understand it, myself, but maybe that's cause I've already had my fill of it. So good luck, and I hope it's fruitful, because you've been looking for this for as long as I can remember...
Posted by Scand79 | March 1, 2006 7:28 PM
Up close and personal Jehovah's Witnesses can be wolves in sheep's clothing. Think about this-When the devil comes knocking on your door he may not have the 'dark goth look'.They could be smartly dressed and wielding the Christian Bible. I have Jehovah's Witnesses family in the usa who practice the Watchtower JW enforced ritual shunning that i have not seen or heard from in 15 years. The central CORE dogma of the Watchtower is Jesus second coming (invisibly) in 1914 and is a lie.Jehovah's Witnesses are a spin-off of the man made Millerite movement of 1840. A destructive cult of false teachings, that frequently result in spiritual and psychological abuse, as well as needless deaths (bogus blood transfusion ban). Yes,you can 'check out anytime you want but you can never leave',because they can and will hold your family hostage. The world has the Internet now,and there are tens of thousands of pages up from disgruntled ex-Jehovah's Witnesses like myself who have been abused by the Watchtower cult. Jehovah's Witnesses are often a mouth that prays a hand that kills.The Watchtower is a truly Orwellian world. ---- Danny Haszard former Jehovah's Witness X 33 years and 3rd generation www.dannyhaszard.com
Posted by Danny Haszard | March 3, 2006 2:48 PM
OK. Good to know. I wasn't really planning on including Jehovah's Witness as a possible faith for me anyway, but thanks for the warning.
Posted by Grace | March 4, 2006 5:08 PM